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Revealed: How BGT probed claims David Walliams was taking teenagers into his dressing room six YEARS ago – and Simon Cowell’s withering reaction to his old friend’s downfall
Developed over time first seen 2 hours ago
Britain’s Got Talent bosses investigated claims about David Walliams inviting teenage girls into his dressing room after journalists and social media users raised concerns around 2020. According to people involved with the programme, the informal inquiry found no evidence they considered sufficient to establish wrongdoing, and there had been no formal complaints to the production companies.
The article says the guests were added to a family and friends list by Walliams’s assistant, but organisers could not establish who they were or how he had met them. One woman later told an ITV documentary that she and three other teenagers were alone with Walliams in a closed dressing room, contradicting claims that the door was left open. Walliams denies wrongdoing; the article also reports that Simon Cowell has not spoken to him since 2022 and distanced himself four years ago.
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In short
- BGT bosses made an informal inquiry around 2020.
- They said they found no evidence to substantiate the claims.
- Walliams denies wrongdoing; one woman described a closed-door meeting.
How this story developed
- 1 hour ago Britain’s Got Talent bosses investigated claims about David Walliams inviting teenage girls into his dressing room after journalists and social media users raised concerns around 2020.
Full account
Britain’s Got Talent executives examined concerns about David Walliams inviting teenage girls into his dressing room around 2020, according to people connected with the programme. They said the review followed social media posts and enquiries from journalists, rather than a formal complaint to the show’s production company, Fremantle, or Simon Cowell’s former company SyCo Entertainment. Those sources said the review found no evidence of wrongdoing that would justify dismissing Walliams. Their account does not establish what happened during the visits.
The guests were reportedly added to a friends and family list by Walliams’s personal assistant at his request. Programme sources said staff could not determine from that list how he knew them, including whether he had met them online. They have maintained that his dressing-room door was left open and that visitors were offered cupcakes and soft drinks. A woman identified as Abby gave ITV’s documentary David Walliams: Power and Silence a different account: she said she and three other teenagers were alone with Walliams in the room while the door was closed. The source material does not say that Abby’s account was available to the executives who reviewed the concerns in 2020.
The renewed scrutiny comes amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving Walliams, including an allegation that he sexually assaulted a girl aged 15. He was also identified in the first report as the celebrity who had sought an injunction to prevent publication of allegations against him. Separately, former model Lilly Creightmore told BBC Newsnight that, after meeting Walliams when she was 18, she stayed at his flat during a difficult period at home and felt repeatedly pressured to share his bed. She said he touched her leg and asked her to sleep beside him, which left her feeling manipulated. Walliams’s lawyers said he regarded Creightmore as a close friend. He denies grooming or targeting her because of her age or circumstances, and denies saying or doing anything inappropriate.
Walliams joined Britain’s Got Talent as a judge in 2012 and made his final appearance in 2022. The first report says he left after recordings emerged of offensive remarks he had made about contestants during auditions. It also says Cowell has not spoken to him since 2022 and attributes Cowell’s earlier distancing from him to unnamed sources; it gives no direct comment from Cowell on the current allegations. The accounts together raise questions about what the programme knew, what its informal review could establish, and how the women describe their experiences. The allegations remain allegations, and the accounts supplied do not establish findings against Walliams.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
The first report concentrates on the programme’s informal review, the conflicting accounts of the dressing-room visits, and Walliams’s relationship with Cowell. The second concentrates on Creightmore’s account to BBC Newsnight and Walliams’s response through his lawyers.
Programme sources describe the dressing-room door as open; Abby told ITV it was closed while she and three other teenagers were inside.
Coverage · 2 sources
Bias meters
From 2 rated sources.
- Daily MailRightRevealed: How BGT probed claims David Walliams was taking teenagers into his dressing room six YEARS ago – and Simon Cowell’s withering reaction to his old friend’s downfall
- Daily MailRightFormer model who claims David Walliams groomed her aged 18 and 'pressured her to share a bed' says she is 'angry' at his behaviour